A federal appeals court Monday upheld the central provisions of the sweeping gun control laws passed by the New York and Connecticut legislatures in response to the mass murders of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Justice
Stories about the justice system in Connecticut: Law enforcement, courts, prisons and offenders, immigration, juvenile justice, and public corruption.
Posted inJustice
A bittersweet day for Second Chances in New Haven
NEW HAVEN – Waiting for the governor to arrive for the press conference about criminal justice reform, Police Chief Dean Esserman talked shop with Michael P. Lawlor, the governor’s criminal justice adviser. There had been a homicide the previous night, a young man shot on the street.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Justice, Politics
Blumenthal keeps his consumer focus with a shot at VW
The Volkswagen scandal is the latest consumer issue seized on by Richard Blumenthal, who has made consumer protection a priority in his five years in the U.S. Senate, much as he did during his 20 years as Connecticut’s attorney general.
Posted inJustice, Money
Foundations provide reprieve for laid-off legal-aid lobbyists
Grants from the Melville Charitable Trust and two anonymous family foundations will help give Connecticut’s poor at least one more legislative session represented by lobbyists for the state’s cash-strapped legal-aid groups. But the long-term financial prospects of legal-aid remain precarious.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Youth service officers: We are not abusing kids in jail
Staff from CJTS speak out against reports on conditions inside the state-run jails A state investigation that uncovered improper use of restraint and seclusion at Connecticut’s juvenile correction facilities left out one important element, front line staff members say: their voices. “We cannot and will not be portrayed as the enemy or the abuser of […]
Posted inEducation, Justice
The state of Connecticut juvenile incarceration in 17 charts
Each year about 3,000 children enter Connecticut’s juvenile justice system after being convicted of breaking the law. Here, in graphical form, is a historical overview of what happens to youth after they are found guilty, including details on the jails where about 200 youths each year are sent to live.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Few disciplined over restraints, seclusion in juvenile jails
There were only two cases during the 12-month period ending June 30 in which the Department of Children and Families moved to discipline staff for improperly restraining a youth at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys or the neighboring Pueblo Unit for girls.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Juvenile incarceration in Connecticut: A tale of two agencies
It is a tale of two state agencies that run Connecticut’s juvenile justice system. One is now under fire from child advocates and attorneys for mistreating incarcerated youth. The other agency once was, but is now considered a national model.
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT homicides at 12-year low
Connecticut has had a dramatic drop in homicides since 2011, leading to the lowest number of homicides since 2001, according to data recorded by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Legislature confirms first openly gay justice for Supreme Court
The General Assembly on Wednesday confirmed Andrew J. McDonald, a former Democratic state senator and longtime confidant of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, as the first openly gay justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Posted inJustice
When a call for help gets victims arrested
She was bloodied, her eye nearly swollen shut, still groggy from being knocked unconscious by her date. Gertha Lee waited for a safe opportunity to call the police. Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ “I came to, and that’s […]